Pitcher AJ Russell returns to the mound for Tennessee following lengthy absence
For the first time since the month of March, right-handed hurler AJ Russell was on the mound for the Tennessee Volunteers.
The sophomore made his return in the top of the sixth inning against Vanderbilt in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament on Wednesday. It was his first action since leaving the top of the ninth inning in a game against Ole Miss on March 23, spanning a total of 60 days. It was the second lengthy absence of the season for the pitcher, as he also missed a total of 30 days earlier in the campaign as well.
Prior to his latest return, Russell had made just four appearances on the injury-plagued season with three starts over a total of 12.1 innings.
“Russell, right now, is probably in another period where he’s a little bit sore. We are going to have to figure out when he’s available again,” Tony Vitello said on Vol calls following his second injury. “He’s just as frustrated as anybody…So, I hate to see that kid have anything interfere with his success, but it just hasn’t worked out smoothly for him.”
The sophomore looked good in his last appearance prior to injury, entering the ballgame against Ole Miss with one away in the top of the sixth inning with two men on base in game two against Ole Miss. He allowed an unearned run to score in the frame but went on to retire eight of his next nine entering the ninth inning. Russell allowed the game-tying double in the ninth and walked three (one intentionally) before exiting with the injury.
“Had some tightness in his forearm,” Vitello said after the game on Russell. “He felt that soreness in there. I think he was wanting to warmup or kind of see how it felt, but we aren’t going to mess with that at any point in that situation.
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“We were kind of at the end of the deal with how we wanted to use him, but either a credit to them or maybe being off a little bit command wise and pitch count climbing pretty quick in the amount of time that he was out there. I mean, he did record three innings worth of outs for us. He did a good job. He kept us in the game but unfortunately, I think gave up one of several 0-2 hits that were painful.”
Russell made that return from injury to the mound the week prior in game three at Alabama on March 17 after missing his previous three starts with general soreness after being removed from his February 23 start against Albany after three scoreless innings of 54 pitches.
The righty pitched extremely well in the season-opener against No. 21 Texas Tech at Globe Life Field and it was also the first weekend start of his career as well. Russell went on to strike out 10 batters over 4.1 innings pitched where he allowed two runs off three hits in Opening Day start.
With Russell back on the mound for Tennessee, expect the Vols to utilize him in short stints down the stretch and on into postseason play.
